The Bing Overseas Seminars program is “highly likely” to start up again in the summer of 2012, according to Irene Kennedy, executive director of the Bing Overseas Studies Program (BOSP). BOSP is in the process of finding funding for the program and planned locations where the seminars could potentially held.

The program’s potential return hinges on BOSP’s ability to find financial support for the seminars, Kennedy said. These seminars were put on hold in the summer of 2010 due to university-wide budget crunches during the economic crisis. The seminars were three-week long, intensive courses taught in the summer months in an overseas location. Previous courses took place in Greece, Thailand and India, among many other countries.

BOSP cut these seminars because it was the “easiest and most viable way” to meet budget, said former BOSP director, Norman Naimark.

At its height, BOSP supported 10 seminars with 150 students. It is not clear how large the program will be should it return next summer.

— Ivy Nguyen